Speak Bird Speak Again (36 page)

"'Well,
I had to wait until I'd put him to sleep, until I'd finished my house
work ...'

"So,
she served him the food and he ate. When he had finished eating and
drinking, she asked, 'What do you have for me to eat and drink?' He
said there was a scrap of moldy bread and a bit of wormy smoked fish.
She took them and ate, and then she embraced him and slept by his
side. I stayed outside till they had gone to sleep. When they were
fast asleep, I came in to them, cut off his nose, wrapped it in a
handkerchief, and left. Waking up, she nudged him like this and found
him dead. She rent her dress, beat her breast, and then headed home.
Waiting until she had gone ahead, I followed her, keeping well
behind, but when we were close to home I struck out on a different
path and got here ahead of her. I went back to bed and pretended to
be fast asleep, just as I was before she went out. She came in, made
her bed, wrapped a bandage around her head and fell asleep. When I
woke up in the morning, I saw that she had bandaged her head.

"'What's
the matter, dear wife?' I asked.

"'I
just got news my cousin's dead,' she answered.

"'And
how long are you going to mourn for him?'

"'A
whole year,' she said.

"'No!'
I objected. 'Four months will be enough.'

"She
mourned four months," continued the Golden Rod, "and when
she came out of mourning she said she wanted to go to the baths. I
brought her a bouquet of flowers, perfumes, and toilet articles. You
should have seen the basket! It was full to the brim, except that I
had put her cousin's nose among the articles. Taking the basket with
her, she went to the baths, bathed, and came back home. She stood in
front of the mirror to put on makeup and adorn herself, and, as she
was searching among the things in the basket, her lover's nose came
into her hand. She sprang up in anger, wanting to tear me to pieces.

"'Stop
where you are!' I commanded. 'Let half of you stay human, and the
other half turn bitch!'

"Tell
me, merchant, did she or didn't she meet you on the way? And your
poor wife who had meant only her new dress - what wrong did she do?

"Now,"
continued the Golden Rod, "having put a spell on her, I left her
to guard such and such a place. Then I asked for the hand of my other
cousin and married her. Before long she, too, started to do the same
thing as the other one. One day I spilled the cup and pretended to be
drunk, while she went straight to the kitchen, ladled the food, and
headed out. I followed her from a distance, and she too came to a
cave, where a black slave shouted at her the same things. Then they
ate, embraced, and slept. Waiting until they were fast asleep, I went
in to them and cut out his tongue. He died. When she came to bid him
good-bye, she found him dead. She beat her breast until she had had
enough; then, pulling herself together, she left. No sooner did she
leave than I followed, taking a different path when we were close to
home. Having gotten there before her, I went to sleep. In the morning
she had a bandage around her head.

"'What's
the matter, dear wife?'

"'By
Allah, I just got news my cousin's dead.'

"'How
long are you going to mourn for him?'

"'I
want to mourn six months,' she said.

"'No,'
I said. 'Four's enough.'

"Four
months she mourned, and when her mourning was over I brought her a
bouquet like the other one and all the other things, putting them in
a basket, her cousin's tongue among them. She went to the baths, and
when she came home she stood in front of the mirror to beautify
herself, and her cousin's tongue came into her hand. She rushed at
me, screaming and wanting to tear me up.

"'Stop
where you are!' I commanded. 'Half of you is human, let the other
half turn fish!'

"I
left her under a spell in such and such a place. Tell me, did she or
didn't she meet you on the way?"

"Yes,"
the merchant answered. "She did."

"And
your wife," asked the Golden Rod, "whose mind was only on
her dress, what did she do?

"Anyway,"
he continued, "I asked for the hand of my third cousin and
married her. Before long she, too, started to behave like the others.
I did the same thing, spilling the cup down my collar and rolling
over. When she saw me in that condition, she opened the wardrobe and
took out a copy of the Qur'an. Putting it under her arm, she took a
candle with her and set out. I followed, walking behind her. She
walked till she was out of the city and had come to the seashore.

"'Open
up, O sea!' she called out. 'Let the lover see his beloved!'

"With
the power of the Almighty," he said, "the sea parted and
she walked in.

"'For
you and for the one with you,' said the sea in parting. Not realizing
she was being followed, she thought the Qur'an was intended. I went
in fight behind her. When she came to an arched doorway, she said,
'Open, arched door! Let the lover see his beloved!'

"'For
you and for the one with you?' he asked.

"'For
me and the one with. me,' she answered.

"Coming
into a room she knocked on a door. He opened, and behold! he was a
youth - handsome like a sweet basil plant.

"'Welcome,
welcome!' he said. 'Did you finally get here, sister?'

"'By
Allah,' she answered. 'Yes, I did.'

"'And
what kept you so long?'

"'You
know,' she answered, 'a woman's destiny's not in her own hands.'

"By
Allah, she went inside with him. Setting the Qur'an down, they read
until they had their fill. Then they talked, and he put the sword
between him and her. They lay down and went to sleep.

"'By
Allah,' I said to myself, 'he didn't do anything, and she didn't do
anything. So, I'm going to bring back for her a small token that
would cause him no harm.'

"Waiting
until they were asleep, I went inside. Since he had long hair, I
approached and cut a small lock from the top of his head and tied it
up in a handkerchief. As fate would have it, his soul was in that
lock of hair, and he died. When she woke up, she wanted to bid
farewell to her brother. 'Brother, brother!' she called out, but she
found him dead. She beat her breast, tore her clothes, and left,
taking the candle and the Qur'an with her.

"I
stood aside until she had passed, then followed her.

"'Open,
arched door!' she said, when she reached it. 'The lover will see his
beloved no more!'

"When
she reached the sea, the same thing took place. Once we were past the
sea and had arrived in the city, I struck out on a different path and
got home before her. I went to sleep just as she had left me.
Meanwhile, she came in, wrapped a bandage around her head, lay down,
and went to sleep. When I woke up in the morning, I found she'd put a
bandage around her head.

"'What's
the matter, dear wife?' I asked.

"'By
Allah, I just got news my brother's dead.'

"'And
how long are you going to mourn for him?'

"'I
want to mourn six months,' she answered.

"'No,'
I said. 'A year.'

"She
mourned a year, and when she was out of mourning she did the same as
the others had done, going to the baths and coming back to put on her
best and make herself up. When she found the lock of hair among the
toilet articles, she sprang up. She wanted to tear me into pieces.
'Stop where you are,' I commanded, 'and turn into a cat!' And here
she is! You see her always sitting in my lap. And your poor wife -
what wrong did she do? Her mind was only on the dress. As for me, I'm
not going to marry another one. It's all over."

When
the Golden Rod had finished his story, the merchant regretted how he
had treated his wife. He was now anxious to go home and was about to
excuse himself and leave, when his host said, "Wait a moment.
I'm going to give you a present for your wife. She's a good woman and
worthy of respect, and her mind was only on her dress."

The
merchant went home very happy. He was now eager to please his wife.
As soon as he reached his town, he went to his house. "Dear
wife," he said, "I did you wrong. By Allah, he's richer and
better than me in all respects. And here, he's sent you a present
with me." Pulling out the present, he gave it to her, then went
and sat down some distance away from her. She opened the package to
see what kind of present it was and found a mirror in it. No sooner
did she look in the mirror than she disappeared. The Golden Rod had
snatched her away and married her.

This
is my tale, I've told it, and in your hands I leave it.

26.

Once
upon a time there was a woman. She had for a neighbor a charming
rogue who knew how to enjoy life. "By Allah," said he one
day, "I'm going to play a trick on her and take away one of the
family's yoke of oxen." Waiting until the husband had gone to
the fields to plow (they had another team of oxen which he did not
take with him) the neighbor disguised himself and called out, "Ho!
I have names for sale! Who wants a beautiful name? I sell names!"
The woman was baking bread outdoors in her clay oven. "Hey,
uncle!" she cried out, "Come, come! Let me see! What are
you selling?"

"I
sell names," he answered. "What's your name, uncle? Let me
see if it's beautiful or not."

"By
Allah," she replied, "my name's Minjal."

"What!"
exclaimed the salesman. "What's this Minjal? Is that a name fit
for a woman? Why, that's nothing more than a piece of iron. Are you
crazy enough to accept a name like that?"

"Very
well, uncle," declared the woman. "Come, sell me a name.
How much does one cost?"

"By
Allah, cousin," he replied, "a beautiful name - I'll sell
it to you for a yoke of oxen."

"Fine,"
she agreed. "Come, let me see what kind of a name you're going
to sell me."

"By
Allah," he said. "I'm going to call you, 'Mistress of All
and Flower of the House.' Go in and take a bath. Then wear some nice
clothes, pile up whatever mattresses you have, and make a bridal seat
for yourself. Lock the door and sit on the mattresses. If your
husband should come to the door, calling, 'Hey, Minjal! Hey, Minjal!'
don't pay him any attention, even if he stands out there all day. Not
until he calls you, 'Mistress of All and Flower of the House.'"

"Fine,
uncle," she said. "May Allah reward you! What do you want
for payment?"

"I
want that team of oxen."

"Go
ahead and untie it," she agreed.

The
salesman went ahead, untied the oxen, and took them. The woman then
went in, combed her hair, put on her best clothes, and if they had a
couple of old mattresses she piled them up and sat on them like a
bride. Locking the door from the inside with the key, she sat waiting
on the bridal seat.

It was
raining, and her husband was plowing. It had rained on him and on the
team. Poor man! He came home from the field dripping with water.
Knocking on the door, he called out, "Minjal! Minjal!" No
answer. He pounded on the door and banged against it shouting, "O
Minjal! O Minjal!" until he was exhausted. Meanwhile, his wife
was sitting inside, feeling frustrated.

"You
can say 'Minjal' till you rot!" she finally said. "I've
bought a new name."

"Who
did you buy it from?"

"From
a traveling salesman."

"And
how much did he sell it to you for?"

"I
paid with the team of oxen."

"What
is this name that you've bought?" he asked.

"My
name is now Mistress of All and Flower of the House," she
answered.

"By
Allah, O Mistress of All and Flower of the House," he swore, "I
don't even want to go into the house you're in. If I find others as
crazy as you, I'll be back. But if I can't find anyone so crazy, I'm
not coming back. You can keep your name, and you can keep the house."
Leaving the team in the lower part of the house, the man then turned
and left.

It was
pouring rain. He went, you might say, to the cemetery of the
Christians and took shelter by the side of a big rock. Taking off his
clothes, he sat under this rock by the cemetery of the Christians. In
the morning some Christian women came to visit. One like Hanne - her
children died in their youth; another, like Badia - her brother died
a young man. This one had lost a son, that one a daughter, and
another a father or a mother. Anyway, they came to visit the graves
and found this naked man.

"Brrr!
he shivered. "Allah protect you, sisters! Please give me
something to cover my nakedness."